The 2021 festival will focus on shorts because the 2020 festival was rescheduled for April 2021 owing to the pandemic. We have booked two additional screen days. We can accept short films (20" or less) but we can only accept feature films if the directors are happy to show a sequence (20" or less) on our main screen, with the full film available on demand in our gallery on smaller screens.
Ethnografilm is a Director's festival, held each April at Théâtre Lepic, the greatest fringe theatre on the planet, at the highest point of Paris. All non-fiction films are eligible for the 2021 festival.
At our last festival 90% of the directors were there to discuss films, meet colleagues, drink wine, and initiate new collaborations! Our bar and gallery are the perfect place to watch the films again, argue the fine points, ask and answer questions from other directors.
“Ethnographic” films are not simply about far away people and places. We particularly solicit movies about modern life as well as remote corners of the planet!
Nonfiction filmmakers are the primary audience for Ethnografilm. Last year one director said "I nominate this for the best festival in the world. The place and the atmosphere are so fantastic." The previous year two filmmakers got engaged! Please send us an email if you particularly want to come to Paris. http://ethnografilm.com
Best Quotes from attending directors:
From someone who had screened at Cannes: What I love about Ethnografilm is the absence of snottiness.
My favorite festival in all the world! It was fantastic: thought provoking, diverse, delicious…
I had such a wonderful time last week and it is no exaggeration to say that participating in the festival has been a highlight of my life.
One of the most rewarding experiences of my career.
From an international relations specialist: I learned more about international relations than at our main professional academic convention!
From a theatre staff member: We love your festival so much…the theatre comes alive!
From someone who spent all day working on his laptop just outside the screening room:
The atmosphere here is just so much better than anywhere else, even though I have a deadline and can’t watch films!
You have provided inspiration that I will continue to think on throughout the year and as I approach my next projects.
Fantastic festival. You did an amazing job. I really enjoyed every single film I saw, and that was around 20 films.
The best festival I have ever been to.
What a great team spirit great ambience great films great people.
Everything was perfect, the location, the amazingly friendly and supportive team of festival organisers, the wide array of interesting and, at times, inspiring films, the opportunities to chat with the interesting and, at times, inspiring directors, the wine.
Without doubt memorable and exceptional.
Wonderful festival – very friendly and full of lovely little touches such as the paintings.
Ethnografilm is a model for what can be accomplished when a professional organizing team supports a strong creative vision. Filmmaker, 2014.
Just being able to sit in that space and enjoy a glass of wine and conversation with the filmmakers was delightful.
I screened at the last two Cannes festivals but the press was the target audience. Ethnografilm is for the filmmakers.
This festival is very non-French.
(We had no idea what this meant...but he said it was because there was no entrance fee!)
Best theatre on Planet Earth.
Your film on the main screen in Paris!